Frida Hansen (1855-1931) was a ground-breaking Norwegian artist at the beginning of the 20th century. Her work was tied to the National Romantic period in Norway, and influenced by the international Art Nouveau Movement.  She reinvigorated Norwegian billedvev, [tapestry weaving] from the Renaissance era, investigated natural dyes used in historical weavings, ran a school for tapestry weaving, directed one of the largest tapestry studios in Europe at the turn of the 20th century, and gained international fame for her large tapestries in Art Nouveau style. She also developed a patented technique for weaving “transparent” tapestries with wool warp and weft. Portions of the weavings, usually hung as portieres or curtains, were left unwoven, giving a see-through effect and an emphasis on positive and negative spaces in the images. Hansen’s transparent tapestries drew rave reviews at the Paris Exposition in 1900, and were purchased throughout Europe.

Frida Hansen inspired a production of transparent tapestries in her signature technique that stretched for decades, and even inspires contemporary artists. She released her patent in 1906, and some of the first pattern designers were weavers from her studio, Den Norske Billedvæveri [The Norwegian Tapestry Studio]. Hansen’s open warp technique became part of the curriculum in early 20th century Norwegian weaving schools, so it was widely practiced.

Below are two details from the JUNI transparent tapestry.

The transparent tapestries designed by Frida Hansen are well-documented, due to her diligent record-keeping and the incredible sleuthing of her biographer, Anniken Thue.  But the names of creators (and weavers) of many patterns designed by her followers remain a mystery. I would like to solve some of these mysteries, and in doing so, demonstrate the enduring influence of Frida Hansen and her innovative technique on decades of weavers. I recently had the chance to do just that on a visit to Norsk Folkemuseum.  When exploring in the museum archives I came across boxes of patterns from Husfliden [the National Handcraft Association] dating to the early 1900s, and I made a few discoveries. A young woman named Walborg Nickelsen, who briefly worked for Husfliden, designed at least two patterns for transparent tapestry. This article highlights one of these, and tells the brief tale of her life, as far as I could piece it together.

I have not seen a woven version of the full-sized pattern, with the wonderful deer. The second pattern, from a smaller sketch, must have been woven frequently. I recognized it from the collections of three museums, none of which listed the designer.

The color choices made by the weavers give each version an entirely different feel. This copy from Maihaugen is in lighter and softer colors than the suggested yarn colors that were attached to the Husfliden pattern.

Here is a version at the Sverresborg Trøndelag Museum.

A version of the pattern is even found in an American museum, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. It was woven by a Norwegian-American weaver from Portland, Oregon, Ruthi Klever Lunde Clark (1900 or 1903-1981). Clark’s pink and green version was woven in tow linen rather than wool. (You can read more about Clark’s version and other American tapestries that were woven in Frida Hansen’s technique in this article, “Frida Hansen – Transatlantic Ties.”)

Since the first draft of this article was written, yet another set of portieres in Nickelsen’s tree pattern turned up on the Norwegian Blomqvist auction site. They were originally listed “Unknown Designer,” but I was able to give them updated information.

The auction house was not able to provide any provenance. I have no verification, but since this version is woven in exactly the colors specified by threads attached to the pattern in the Husfliden archives at the Norsk Folkemuseum, I have a hunch they may be the original set woven by the designer. Will more clues turn up?

Who was Walborg Nickelsen, the designer?

Walborg Weil Nickelsen (1907-1980) was born in Narvik, in the far north of Norway, in 1907, during the time her father, Wilhelm Nickelsen (1874-1953), served as the city engineer. They moved to Oslo in 1910, and Wilhelm spent most of his career as an engineer in the construction division of Asker municipality. According to newspapers of the day, he was a frequent speaker on the radio, often during a program with the tagline, “Small Visits with Big Men.” (One example was in Buskerud og Vestfold, April 11, 1931.) Walborg’s mother, Ragnhild Agnes Marie Nickelsen (born Ruud), cared for the home and lived to 103.

Walborg became a well-trained weaving instructor. She studied weaving at the Kvinnelig Industriskole [National Women’s Arts and Design School] for four years (best guess, around 1923-26), and then worked for Husfliden [the National Handcraft Association] for two years (1927-28?).  

After her stint at Husfliden, Walborg worked as the assistant to Tora Qviller, a well-known Art Deco-influenced designer and weaver in the 1930s. An article in Dagbladet (12/12/1931) described Qviller’s work on two large commissions, for the director’s office of the Oslo Electric Company and 75 rooms at the Continental Hotel. In the General Director’s Office, Qviller proposed designs for upholstery, curtains, and rugs. “Tora Qviller and her young assistant, Valborg Nickelsen, received only a week and a half to create all the samples.” 

In 1932 Walborg Nickelsen moved on to teach weaving for a new private weaving school started by Ingebjørg Hvoslef at the Tanberg estate in Ringerike. The ad for the school listed Nickelsen as the instructor. The three-month course had a very ambitious scope – both for learning and teaching! Students would study overshot weaving, linen damask, clothing fabric, home-spun, tapestry, pile weaving, transparent weaving, coverlet weaves, weaving theory, lace-making, pattern design, natural dyeing and spinning of linen and wool. 

As far as I could determine, Walborg Nickelsen ended her career as a weaver, teacher and designer after teaching the course in the fall of 1932. Her name was not listed in the advertisements for the Tanberg Weaving School in the years after that. Also, according to newspaper notices in the summer and fall of 1932, Walborg became engaged to Ellef Bennichmann Petersen. She married in 1935, and had one son, Bjørn. She died in 1980. It seems a shame that she didn’t continue her life as a weaver and designer. If anyone knows more about her life, I’d love to know.

Frida Hansen’s influence

What if Frida Hansen had chosen to lead a life of conventional expectations, to work exclusively in her home? She began her career in textiles by opening an embroidery shop out of necessity, when her husband went bankrupt in an economic depression. After his finances improved, he encouraged her to give up outside work, but she refused. She had too much to accomplish, too many tapestries to create.

Walborg Nickelsen’s tree design is just one small indication of the decades of influence Frida Hansen had on weavers and designers in Norway. Nickelsen learned the technique in weaving school, created patterns for the technique as a young designer, and taught the technique as a weaving instructor.

Bibliography

Thue, Anniken. Frida Hansen: Europeeren i Norsk Vevkunst. Oslo : Universitetsforlaget, 1986.
“Wilhelm Nickelsen,” Lokalhistoriewiki.no [accessed 10/8/2024]

Read more about Frida Hansen: “Frida Hansen: A Brief Biography.” Norwegian Textile Letter, April 2022.

Robbie LaFleur is a weaver and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has been following a thread of Scandinavian textiles since she studied weaving at Valdres Husflidskole in Fagernes, Norway, in 1977. She is a Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum Gold Medalist in weaving, coordinates the Weavers Guild of Minnesota Scandinavian Weavers Study Group, and publishes the Norwegian Textile Letter. In 2019 she received a fellowship from the American Scandinavian Foundation to study the transparency technique of famed Norwegian tapestry weaver Frida Hansen. Contact: lafleur1801@me.com. Blog: robbielafleur.com. Instagram: robbie_lafleur

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